Avoiding Violent Victimization Among Youths in Urban Neighborhoods: The Importance of Street Efficacy

• NCJ Number: 248764
• Author(s): Chris L. Gibson, Abigail A. Fagan, Kelsey Antle
• Date Published: February 2014
• Length: 8 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: Unpacking the Influence of Neighborhood Context and Antisocial Propensity on Violent Victimization of Children and Adolescents in Chicago

Annotation

This study examined how street efficacy—the perceived ability to avoid dangerous and unsafe situations—is related to violent victimization across different levels of neighborhood disadvantage.

Abstract

The study used two waves of self-report data collected between 1995 and 1999 from 1,865 youths in the 9-, 12-, and 15-year-old cohorts of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods to measure violent victimization, street efficacy, and risk factors for violent victimization. It also analyzed data from the 1990 U.S. Census to measure categories of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage where the cohorts of youths resided. Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between street efficacy and violent victimization, controlling for demographic, family and parenting, self-control, and behavioral and lifestyle variables. Logistic regression results showed that street efficacy had its strongest association with violent victimization in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods (odds ratio = 0.700; 95-percent confidence interval = 0.55, 0.89). Findings support the need to teach youths ways to successfully navigate potentially violent situations in environments that pose moderate to high risks for exposure to violence. (Publisher abstract modified)